Snub Nosed Monkey

As read on ScienceDaily dated Oct 27, 2010

An international team of primatologists have discovered a new species of monkey in Northern Myanmar (formerly Burma.) The research, published in the American Journal of Primatology, reveals how Rhinopithecus strykeri, a species of snub-nosed monkey, has an upturned nose which causes it to sneeze when it rains.

The species has been named Rhinopithecus strykeri in honour of Jon Stryker, President and Founder of the Arcus Foundation who supported the project. However, in local dialects it is called mey nwoah, 'monkey with an upturned face.'

While the species is new to science the local people know it well and claim that it is very easy to find when it is raining because the monkeys often get rainwater in their upturned noses causing them to sneeze. To avoid getting rainwater in their noses they spend rainy days sitting with their heads tucked between their knees

According to local hunters the monkeys spend the summer months, between May and October, at higher altitudes in mixed temperate forests. In winter they descend closer to villages when snowfall makes food scarcer.

Ugly Animals - Snub Nosed Monkey